Chapter 16 – Should I Strike Him from the Family Registry

“I do not know the exact price, but my family has been in the real estate business since my maternal grandparents’ time. So we own quite a few buildings.”

‘This is not just an ordinary case?’

Office Manager Ju Yong-hae intuited that the client Cha Ra-ri brought was not an ordinary person.

“Um… It seems like it would be best for you to get a consultation in earnest from our attorney. Please wait a moment.”

He quickly stood up and ran to Geum Nae-yeong.

“Um, Attorney.

To put it simply, Cha Ra-ri-ssi brought in a guest—no, brought in a case… and this person has a massive amount of assets, and it seems he needs a consultation.”

Geum Nae-yeong slowly asked back.

“What kind of case is it?”

“What kind… ah? …Love? L… Love, no… he wants to get married.”

“Marriage? Can’t he just do it?”

“He says his parents oppose it, and it seems the opposing woman is not to his parents’ liking.”

“That is not a matter for legal punishment. Nor is it a cause for damages.”

“Ah, not that… This person and his family have a lot of assets. So he is worried that the woman is trying to marry him for his assets.”

“Ah, I see. Understood. I will do the consultation.”

Like that, the ‘wealthy client’ consultation, which started with Cha Ra-ri’s sales activity, unfolded.

“…So it is a marriage that your parents oppose, but you, Kang Pyeong-gu-ssi, want to do it. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then you can just do it. There is no legal problem at all. Aren’t you already an adult? Ah, have you not passed 20 years of age?”

The man tilted his head.

“Yes. Of course I’ve passed it, I am 32 years old.”

“Then it is possible. Filing a marriage registration is not difficult.”

“But… it feels like going against my parents’ wishes is not the right path. My girlfriend says we can just place a cup of water and have a wedding among ourselves.”

“To summarize, the marriage itself is not a big problem… where did the two of you meet?”

“…At… At a…”

“At a where?”

“…At a drinking establishment.”

“A drinking establishment? Do you mean a general alcohol-selling establishment? Or do you mean an adult entertainment establishment where alcohol is sold primarily, accompanied by dancing, singing, and hosting?”

“……I think it’s the latter.”

“Yes, you met at an entertainment establishment.”

“Yes… I went there with my friends on my birthday and met her. She first came into the room and I fell in love at first sight… she was really pretty. After that, we became close, and even promised to marry. But since I bought her gifts and spent some money on her, my mother seemed to have looked into it here and there.”

“Yes.”

“After looking into it, she said she would never let me marry a woman who works at such an establishment… and that my girlfriend was meeting me because of money. So marriage is absolutely out of the question.”

“And so?”

“I want to marry my girlfriend no matter what. I want to do many good things for her…”

“Ah. In that case, you, Kang Pyeong-gu-ssi, want to give her everything, and your mother hates that your money goes to your girlfriend.”

“Hmm… right. In fact, since my girlfriend said she wanted to ride a Ferrari once, we went to look at cars… and I got the employee’s business card there.”

“Then the person who wants to spend money is not the problem, but the mind of the person trying to stop them from spending is the problem.

If so, there is an answer.”

“There is… an answer?”

“Yes,

You can enter a pre-nuptial property agreement before marriage.”

“An agreement? What is that?”

“Simply put, you agree that your pre-marital assets owned by Kang Pyeong-gu-ssi are separate property. They will not be subject to property division later. By making such an agreement, even if you divorce later, you prepare documents in advance to exclude them from the property division.”

“Ah… is there such a thing?”

“There is. It is more certain if you make the document and get it notarized. Even at our Teum Law Office, notarization is possible. It reduces disputes during mutual agreement divorce later.”

“Then it would be good to get that agreement and show it to my mother.”

“At least she would worry less about you getting your money taken away, right?”

The man said with his expression completely cleared.

“That’s right! If she is not marrying me because she covets my assets, my girlfriend will write this for me too… Thank you so much, Attorney.”

“Not at all. If you want to draft the agreement, come back anytime.”

The man nodded and smiled. And he asked subtly.

“But attorneys wouldn’t worry about such things, right? Suspecting for no reason like me that my girlfriend loves me because of money…”

Geum Nae-yeong cut him off flatly.

“Yes. I do not worry, and I follow my mother’s words.”

“…Pardon? You follow your mother’s words?”

“Yes. Since we do not know other people’s emotions, I do not suspect and just follow my mother’s opinion. There is no need to judge.”

The man was speechless at the reply that was different from his expectations.

But Geum Nae-yeong added one word.

“However, I make the truly important choices. Because the things I experience in my life are completely my share.”

The man nodded as if strangely convinced.

Like that, the consultation ended.

***

And the next day, after lunch time.

Knock, knock.

“Yes?”

The one who opened the door and entered was Ha-yul, Office Manager Ju Yong-hae’s daughter.

“Um… handsome attorney oppa? I have a worry, can I ask you about it?”

Although there wouldn’t be anything to answer for a teenager’s worry, Geum Nae-yeong nodded.

“Attorney oppa, you graduated from Hankook University, right?”

“Yes. I also finished my master’s.”

“Then you must have been really good at studying. Actually, Daddy said he’d send me to a K-pop dance academy… but seeing this report card, he says he’ll send me only after I raise my grades.

By any chance, is there any skill to raise grades quickly?”

“A studying skill… does studying even require a skill?”

As Geum Nae-yeong muttered to himself, wrinkles appeared between Ha-yul’s eyebrows.

“See. People who study well always say it’s easy.”

“Then around what are your current grades?”

“Me? All 9th grade.”

“9th grade?… Is there even a 9th grade? What rank are you in class?”

“If my condition is good, 24th, if it’s not good, around 25th?”

“How many students are in the class?”

“25 students.”

“…You are the last place.”

“……Tsk.”

“How many ranks do you have to raise?”

“All 8th grade.”

“If it is 8th grade, how many do you have to get right per subject?”

“Two or three per subject? If I do performance evaluations well, it works, but it’s too annoying.”

Geum Nae-yeong began to think about something seriously.

‘Getting 2-3 correct answers per subject… it is an unexpectedly difficult task. It is harder than just guessing everything. You can’t just not solve the questions at all.

Since she has no base at all, raising major subjects immediately is impossible, so I should use Bandura’s self-efficacy enhancement strategy to start with easy subjects.’

“Good. When raising grades in a hurry, it is faster to raise memorization subjects than major subjects.”

Ha-yul smiled widely with anticipation that he would raise her grades quickly.

“Do you have a Korean history or social studies book?”

“No. Who carries books around these days. I left them at school.”

“What about workbooks?”

“No.”

“A vocabulary book?”

“What is that? I have a tablet.”

The tablet screen Ha-yul held out was filled with file names like these:

• [Member likes member]

• [Northern Grand Duke’s Sincerity]

• [Omniscient Nugu Idol Point of View]

Looking at the tablet home screen, which was filled with disorganized and scattered files, Geum Nae-yeong let out a sigh.

He soon closed the tablet, wrote a few words on a memo pad, and handed it over.

* Bring tomorrow: vocabulary book, Korean history, social studies or science textbook.

Receiving the memo, Ha-yul ran out of the office in excitement, as if she had already escaped the 9th grade.

The next day.

The door of Teum Law Office flung open.

The ones who entered while holding both door handles were two well-built men dressed in black suits.

Behind them, a middle-aged woman wearing a brown mink coat, a thick pearl necklace, and multiple glittering rings on her hands strode inside, accompanied by an elderly middle-aged man. Finally, a man who looked like their secretary followed them in and asked the information desk.

“Is Attorney Geum Nae-yeong here?”

“Yes, he is. Have you come to see the attorney?”

The middle-aged woman stepped forward.

“Where is Geum Nae-yeong?”

Seeing the splendidly dressed couple, Office Manager Ju Yong-hae muttered in his mind.

‘…Did we get caught up in something bad? A funeral car passed in front of me this morning. This feels completely uncomfortable.’

With an uncomfortable mind, Office Manager Ju spoke to the woman.

“By the way, what business brings you…”

“There is the name in front of the door. Geum Nae-yeong.”

Without even giving him time to speak to the end, the middle-aged couple showed a displeased look and headed straight to Geum Nae-yeong’s office.

Click.

When the secretary opened the door, the woman entered first.

And she began to snap out of nowhere.

“Are you the attorney who seduced our son yesterday?”

At the woman’s sharp voice, the middle-aged man raised his hand to stop her.

“Dear, restrain yourself. We haven’t even heard his side yet.”

And then he nodded toward Geum Nae-yeong.

“I am Kang Bu-cheon. I run a real estate corporation.”

“I am Geum Nae-yeong. I am an attorney.”

At Geum Nae-yeong’s short and dry greeting, the couple’s eyes shook slightly. They felt it was unexpected for him not to lose his spirit despite being a lawyer.

The woman added fuel to the fire.

“Did you tell our son yesterday that to get married, he can just write that pre-nuptial property thing and marry?”

Geum Nae-yeong did not blink an eye.

“‘Pre-nuptial property thing’ is not the formal term. It is a pre-nuptial property agreement.”

“…What?”

“A pre-nuptial property agreement. Your son met his girlfriend at an entertainment establishment where dancing, singing, and hosting are accompanied, and came for a consultation saying he wanted to marry her.

You worried about the woman’s financial situation and social reputation, thinking she was ‘aiming for his money’.

I only informed the client of the method to protect his assets from a spouse suspected of aiming for his money before marriage.”

The woman barked.

“Why would you inform him of such a thing?”

“Because he is a client. And beyond this, I cannot inform you further due to the obligation of confidentiality.”

The couple, who were momentarily speechless at Geum Nae-yeong’s flawless answer. This time the man asked.

“Does that really have validity? Even if the son is possessed by the woman and marries, is it really fine when they divorce later?”

“I cannot say there is none at all. But at least, it acts advantageously in disputes regarding assets owned before marriage. You take action in advance to exclude them from the property division.”

Kang Bu-cheon’s eyes shook for a moment, and he let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh, how on earth did such a son come out from me. Should I strike him from the family registry?”

To those words, Geum Nae-yeong replied.

“Legally, striking your son from the family registry is impossible.

However, there is a method of writing a waiver of support obligation, and another is filing a lawsuit for confirmation of non-existence of parent-child relationship.

This can be reviewed if the child was switched during birth, due to misconception in the adoption process, false birth registration, or if your wife had a child from a relationship with someone other than you, Kang Bu-cheon-ssi.”

“Wh… What? A relationship with someone else?… What?”

At Geum Nae-yeong’s reply, the couple looked at each other.

‘What is he saying? Isn’t he a strange lawyer?’

The couple gestured to each other and stood up awkwardly. The quick-witted secretary opened the office door, and they walked out of the office with quick steps.

***

At that time. Cha Ra-ri was standing in front of a huge building.

A shopping bag containing Vita 600 hung in her hand.

After a while.

Along with loud shouting inside, a woman was forcibly dragged out by several men.

“Let go! Do you think you guys will live well after doing this? You will all receive divine punishment!”

The middle-aged woman, her face flushed red, pointed her finger and poured out curses.

“Do you think I’ll give up? Let’s go until the end!”

Watching that fierce struggle, Cha Ra-ri smiled brightly as if her thoughts were correct and approached the woman.